I was always aware of T E Lawrence, or Lawrence of Arabia as he is more commonly known, but via my love of motorcycles (a lifelong passion of his too) I discovered more about him and that significant parts of his life were spent not far from where I live.

A much-lauded character, his story is naturally much more complex than meets the eye. No doubt a gifted soldier, leader and a humanist, his fame in the First World War seemingly catapulted him into a world of strategy and the ‘great game’ which he was arguably ill-equipped to deal with, or was naive to think he could be part of, depending on your viewpoint. His desire to make good on the promises made to the nations of the Middle East by western powers in WW1, and repay the wartime loyalty and sacrifice of so many people there was traded away by the ‘great’ powers at Versailles in 1918. Lawrence was arguably never the same thereafter.

To visit the places associated with him on my bike seemed an interesting thing to do, with a camera, naturally. Not with any agenda, not for any specific purpose; just out of interest. The first was his cottage - Clouds Hill - in Dorset, where he lived after the war until his premature death, working in an enlisted post in the Royal Air Force, eschewing his previous rank almost certainly as a reaction to his treatment in 1918. All photographed on Ilford 35mm black and white film. Ongoing.